Education Specialist (Learning to Earning), (NO-3), Fixed Term, New Delhi, India

India Country Office is seeking an experienced Education for Development Specialist responsible for overseeing the identification, scale up and institutionalisation of high impact and innovative solutions aimed at equipping youth, especially from most marginalised youth constituencies, across school and higher education including those not in education, employment and training, with and towards learning-to-earning solutions.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to education

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose for the job: 

This role oversees the identification, scale up and institutionalization of high impact and innovative solutions aimed at equipping youth, especially from most marginalised youth constituencies, across school and higher education including those not in education, employment and training, with and towards learning-to-earning solutions.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Convening and nurturing relevant Government, Private sector, CSO, youth and philanthropic partnerships to deepen UNICEF-Yuwaah's work around skilling  towards  learning-to-earning solutions, including employment. 
• Assess cross-sectoral landscape and identify white spaces and opportunities to pilot, converge and scale up solutions that advance learning to earning
• Programme design, management, monitoring and delivery of results around skilling, towards learning-to-earning solutions, and enhanced employment opportunities.
• Resource Mobilization 
• Technical and operational support to programme and policy landscape 
• Networking and partnership building 
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: [JD/TOR Education for Development Specialist]

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education: 

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field. 

Work Experience: 

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in the design, planning, and implementation of educational programs preferably with 2 years of leading large-scale, outcome-oriented learning-to-earnings and skilling programmes (particularly for women), with a focus on employment outcomes.
• Mandatory experience of working with government officials at the senior leadership level. Experience in multi-stakeholder consultations, coordination and partnership management
• Demonstrated ability to design, develop content, manage and deliver effectively digital learning solutions at a large scale for programming.
• Proven expertise in establishing M&E frameworks and managing robust real-time dashboards for stakeholders for effective and real-time monitoring of large-scale data
• Substantial experience in managing partnerships and policy conversations with central and state government ministries specially in MoLE, MSDE, and MoE at the senior level, is mandatory. The candidate must have an excellent understanding of system adoption processes.
• Demonstrated ability to manage large donor relationships - including writing donor proposals including budgeting, managing relationships and reporting to donors is key to the role.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 
• Experience in teacher education or career guidance for high school students within school systems is a plus. 
• Experience in tertiary education, youth skills/employment, or adolescent development, particularly for women livelihoods (employment or entrepreneurship) is considered an asset. 
• Experience in working with large program management units and managing them
• Working experience with LMSs, MS PowerBI and Tableau
• Prior experience of working with any digital aggregator solutions for young people ( e.g. national career service portal of MOLE)
• Familiarity with UN agencies, international donors, and similar organisations. 
•  Prior developing country and/or field experience considered an asset. 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and basic proficiency in Hindi are required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) or another local language is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships [II]
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness [II]
• Drive to achieve results for impact [II]
• Innovates and embraces change [II]
• Manages ambiguity and complexity [II]
• Thinks and acts strategically [II]
• Works collaboratively with others [II]
• Nurtures, leads and manages people [I]

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Visa residence requirements: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

• This position is based in New Delhi, India. 
• This position is open for all Indian Nationals and for internal candidates possessing a valid work permit for India. 
• This VA is open to internal and external candidates. 
• The selected applicant will have an initial one (1) year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance. 
• Verbal Feedback shall be provided to unsuccessful internal candidates upon the completion of the recruitment process.
• UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. Eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. 
• UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.   
• UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited / recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/. 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.